Cowgills have been appointed by British based sailing & menswear clothing specialist Henri Lloyd Group and its subsidiary company Henri Lloyd UK, to provide a range of business support services, following a recent restructure of the business.  They will be working with Henri Lloyd, official performance clothing supplier to Team Ineos UK led by Sir Ben Ainslie,  in the run up to the 36^th America’s Cup in Auckland 2021.

Cowgills were initially appointed to provide outsourced financial support and audit services. In addition to this, project based corporate taxation advisory services were provided to the business during a period of complex corporate restructuring.

The team is working closely with Patrik Simonson, the newly appointed CFO of the global Henri Lloyd business, who has been heavily involved in the initial set up of a newly formed UK group, alongside Graham Allen, Head of Henri Lloyd UK.

Commenting on the appointment Alex Hesketh, Head of International at Cowgills, said: “Henri Lloyd is a strong British brand and we are delighted to be able to support the team as they emerge following the restructure. It’s been a truly international effort to ensure the brand has a prosperous future, with investment coming from a group of Swedish Investors led by Hans Eckerstrom.”

Graham Allen, added: “Cowgills are one of the few regional accountancy firms to offer a bespoke international advisory service and their support has been invaluable through this period of change. Not only have they provided a solid service in respect of the day to day matters, but the tax implications of the restructuring process were complex and both Alex’s and the team’s specialist advice has helped us enormously, as we focus on positioning Henri Lloyd as one of the leading premium clothing brands.”

Pixel Kicks, the Manchester based full-service digital agency, has been appointed by One Week Intensive Driving which offers short term driving courses across England, Scotland and Wales.

Pixel Kicks’ focus will be on designing and developing a modern, responsive and informative website that will encourage enquiries and bookings nationwide. It will feature bespoke animated artwork from Mancunian illustrator Barney Ibbotson.

Headquartered in Manchester, One Week Intensive Driving is one of the largest established providers of intensive driving courses in the UK. It covers 95% of the country, has access to thousands driving instructors and has helped thousands of people to successfully pass their driving test.

Paul Tansey, operations amanager at One Week Intensive Driving, said: “We wanted to work with a digital agency that really understood us and our target market which is predominantly young people. We were impressed with Pixel Kicks’ approach and we’re looking forward to seeing the site evolve over the coming months.”

Matt Hartley, principal sales and account manager at Pixel Kicks, added: “One Week Intensive Driving is a young, growing and successful organisation so for us it’s about giving them a platform which reflects that.”

AJ Bell, the investment platform headquartered in Salford Quays, has strengthened its position in the Sunday Times Top 100 Best Companies to Work For, jumping up to 28^th position in the 2019 list from 86^th in 2018.

In addition, AJ Bell has been awarded a three-star accreditation, which Best Companies class as ‘extraordinary levels of workplace engagement’.  This is the highest accreditation that can be achieved and is only awarded to businesses that truly excel.

The Sunday Times Top 100 Best Companies to Work For has been recognising excellent employee engagement for almost 20 years.  It measures how engaged people are at work and how they feel about their employer.

AJ Bell is one of the fastest growing investment platforms in the UK and completed a successful listing on the main market of the London Stock Exchange in December 2018.  To accommodate this growth the company moved into its new Exchange Quay head office in 2017.

The workspace was designed in collaboration with staff in order to ensure employee engagement and create a collaborative working environment focused on providing first class service to AJ Bell’s customers.  As well as a state of the art working environment the office includes a gym, a roof terrace and a dining area and lounge which transforms into a bar for staff once a month.

Andy Bell, chief executive at AJ Bell, commented: “An engaged workforce is absolutely vital to our business.  It is our staff that ensure we provide first-class service to our customers and happy customers fuel the growth of our business.  We have invested significantly in this area over the years and it is particularly pleasing to see our Best Companies ranking improve at the same time as our workforce has grown considerably in line with our business expansion.”

National initiative InnovateHer is pledging its commitment to assisting more than 55 schools and reaching over 1,000 girls by 2020, to help improve equality in tech and address the digital skills gap, with the help of new partners.

The social enterprise, which has launched in 26 schools across the North West in 2018, will work with Greater Manchester Combined Authority and Liverpool City Region Combined Authority to deliver an eight-week after-school programme in the region.

The programme is designed to encourage greater equality and diversity in technical roles by giving girls aged 12-16 access to the skills, self-belief and confidence to pursue a career in technology.

InnovateHer has worked with over 240 girls in 12 schools to date, enabling them to interact with leading employers and industry role models, alongside providing careers coaching. Specialising in technical education for girls, the company is on a mission to make a significant impact on gender inequality in tech globally.

Other private sector partners such as Co-op Digital and Code ComputerLove, will assist the InnovateHer team in delivering the programme in a wide range of schools across the North West. The InnovateHer team are simultaneously working with digital and tech companies through a membership and consultancy offer, to create more inclusive workplaces for the next generation to work within.

Jo Morfee, co-founder of InnovateHer, said: “It’s critical that young people are given the opportunity to learn key digital skills from an early age, as the majority of roles now require digital skills. We also have a gender gap in the industry – just 20% of tech roles in the North West are taken by women.

“That’s why we’re on a mission to change the narrative, because we believe that everyone, regardless of background or identity, should be given the opportunity to follow the path that they choose. It’s great that the Combined Authorities in both Liverpool and Manchester are supporting this ambition as it enables us to reach over 50 schools and hundreds of girls across the North West region.”

The Greater Manchester programme will be delivered as part of a strategic programme backed by the Mayor Andy Burnham. InnovateHer has joined a partnership consortium under the name of GoDigital, which aims to reach up to 50 schools in the area by 2020, to deliver a package of digital skills training and careers coaching to year eight pupils.

Cllr Sean Fielding, GMCA lead for education and skills said: “To be able to dedicate specific funding to developing the digital skills of your young people is a significant step-change in preparing them for the world of work and making them aware of the opportunities in this rapidly growing sector.

This is a fantastic opportunity for young people in Greater Manchester and the programme will reach over 10,000 pupils in 200 schools. This in turn benefits all of us in the city-region and can contribute to us having a thriving economy with the right skills for jobs in the digital sector and opportunities for everyone.”

In the Liverpool City Region, the programme has been backed by Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram and will reach six schools by 2020, working with one school in each borough. The schools will have a choice of themes to pick from; Web Development, Tech for Good and Gaming, and students will have the opportunity to showcase their work at The Big Bang festival in July.

Councillor Ian Maher, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority portfolio holder for education, employment, skills and apprenticeships, said: “Ensuring that everyone in our city region has the opportunity to fulfil their potential is a vital part of the Combined Authority’s work, which is why we are working to tackle harmful gender stereotyping that effectively shuts off whole sectors to our young people.

“Programmes like InnovateHer are so important because they challenge stereotypes and raise aspirations, which will help ensure that girls in our city region feel able to consider a rewarding career in the tech sector.”